A Flair for Furniture Fair

With bird boxes, bright gold arm chairs, and a light fitting made out of Selley's No More Gaps, this year's Edge Awards, which were presented yesterday at the Australian International Furniture Fair, certainly contained some eccentric projects. But their individual eccentricity was underpinned by a common goal - environmental sustainability - as befits a competition which demands all designs entered must use sustainable materials and design processes.

The Green Award, given for the most ecologically sustainable product, was won by Toby Nowland, 23, for his Fold and Peg stools, which were made from wooden pegs and recycled PET bottles, and which started as a university assignment.

"I'm always experimenting," Nowland said. "Taking different fabrics, chucking them in the oven to see what will happen. And I just kept playing and playing, making models out of paper and eventually I came up with this."

Ash Allen, from Melbourne, won the most prestigious Commercial Award for his Dollop pendant light, an assymetrical light fitting that was inspired by a dollop of cream. His design was trying to use the energy efficient LED light globe in a beautiful way.

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"It's about leaving the smallest footprint you can," said Allen. "Materials that regrow and classic pieces that you want to keep in the house as long as possible. I don't buy into the philosophy of in-built obsolescence."

Ben Brayshaw, 21, won the Student Award, with his Clam Shell chair - a portable chair that opens up like a clam and could be taken to the beach or outdoor cinema. And Stephanie Ng Hui Sien, 28, won the award for best concept with her Halo light, a series of circular lights that can be joined together in different configurations.

"The idea with the different configurations is you can have a totally different feel without buying something new and throwing something else away," she said.

The winners receive cash and mentorships with established Australian designers.